(Fornebu, 8 February 2011) In the fourth quarter of 2010, Telenor Group reported revenues of NOK 24.9 billion, representing an organic revenue growth of eight per cent. EBITDA before other items was NOK 7.2 billion, EBITDA margin was 29 per cent, and operating cash flow margin was 14 per cent. For the full year of 2010, Telenor's revenues was NOK 94.8 billion, EBITDA before other items was NOK 29.2 billion, EBITDA margin was 31 per cent and operating cash flow margin was 19 per cent. Telenor's consolidated mobile operations added close to eight million subscriptions during the fourth quarter and 23 million during the year[1].
"Telenor confirms its position as one of Europe's fastest growing telcos, with organic revenue growth of 8% and strong operational performance. In 2010, the Telenor Group had an operating cash flow of NOK 18 billion and a solid EBITDA margin," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.
All-time high shareholder remuneration
"The share buyback programme for 2010 was completed in the fourth quarter. Together with the dividends paid out in May 2010 this resulted in an all-time high shareholder remuneration of NOK 9 billion. Based on the strong financial performance the Management and the Board of Directors propose a dividend of NOK 3,80 per share for 2010, a pay-out ratio in the high end of the dividend policy range," Baksaas said.
Operational excellence
"Our operational excellence programmes are progressing towards the ambitious targets announced in 2010. Going forward, we expect significant long term effects from the ongoing investments in network modernisations. Our ambition is to improve efficiency and enhance customer experience through high quality services," Baksaas said.
13% growth in Asia, overall satisfactory in Nordic and CEE regions
"The established Asian operations reported 13% organic revenue growth in the fourth quarter and obtained an operating cash flow above NOK 10 billion for 2010. Uninor in India added more than four million subscriptions in the fourth quarter and I am pleased to see that our go-to-market model is gradually improving. India is a very competitive market coupled with a challenging regulatory environment, and we are focusing strongly on establishing Uninor as an ultra low cost operator," Baksaas said.
"In the Nordic and the CEE regions, overall performance was satisfactory. However, increased competition in some of the markets requires innovative market approaches and further cost measures," Baksaas said.
VimpelCom
"In January, the Supervisory Board of VimpelCom approved the acquisition of Wind Telecom, and VimpelCom management said it would schedule a shareholders meeting to approve the issuance of new shares in connection with the transaction. In December, Telenor announced its opposition to the transaction because, from Telenor's perspective, it was not strategically nor financially sound for VimpelCom shareholders. At this stage, we believe it is essential that VimpelCom focus on regaining a loss of momentum in the Russian market. On 28 January, Telenor commenced arbitration proceedings against VimpelCom and Altimo to secure Telenor pre-emptive rights and avoid dilution in the event the transaction is completed," Baksaas ends.
Key figures
The table below contains key figures for the fourth quarter and full year of 2010, compared to the previous year. For more information please refer to the
quarterly report.
| Fourth quarter | Year |
(NOK in millions except earnings per share) | 2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 |
Revenues | 24 858 | 22 418 | 94 843 | 90 748 |
EBITDA before other income and expenses | 7 179 | 6 933 | 29 220 | 30 670 |
EBITDA margin before other income and expenses (%) | 28.9 | 30.9 | 30.8 | 33.8 |
Adjusted operating profit | 3 034 | 3 146 | 13 086 | 15 765 |
Adjusted operating profit/Revenues (%) | 12.2 | 14.0 | 13.8 | 17.4 |
Profit after taxes and non-controlling interests [2] | 2 104 | 2 167 | 14 334 | 8 653 |
Earnings per share from total operations, basic, in NOK | 1.29 | 1.31 | 8.69 | 5.22 |
Capex[3] | 3 783 | 5 455 | 11 688 | 15 722 |
Capex excl. licences and spectrum | 3 783 | 5 455 | 11 355 | 15 722 |
Capex excl. licences and spectrum/Revenues (%) | 15.2 | 24.3 | 12.0 | 17.3 |
Operating cash flow [4] | 3 395 | 1 478 | 17 865 | 14 948 |
Net interest-bearing liabilities | | | 19 276 | 26 332 |
[1] As of the fourth quarter the total mobile subscriptions stand at 203 million, including 92 million subscriptions from VimpelCom Ltd.
[2] 'Profit after tax and non-controlling interests' included actual figures for Kyivstar GSM JSC and estimated results for OJSC VimpelCom until 31 December 2009. As of the first quarter 2010, figures for OJSC VimpelCom and Kyivstar GSM JSC were included with a one quarter lag. The second quarter included a gain related to the contribution of Kyivstar to the new entity VimpelCom Ltd. of approxiately NOK 6.5 billion. Please refer to the section 'Associated companies' on page 17 in the quarterly report for further details.
[3] Capex is defined as capital expenditures from continuing operations.
[4] Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses - Capex, excluding licenses and spectrum.
